Thomas P. Myers

Agricultural limitations of the Amazon in theory and practice

Abstract The historical roots of the theory that agricultural potential limits cultural development in the Amazon are examined. It is demonstrated that the agricultural limitations theory is Julian Stewards resolution of the contrasting visions of Paul Kirchoff and Alfred Metraux. While Kirchoff relied upon the earliest observers of Circum‐Caribbean cultures, Metraux ignored comparable testimony from the Amazon. Reexamination of the earliest observations of Amazonian cultures suggests that large, stable chiefdoms had been established before European contact, at least on the lower Amazon.

Dark Earth in the Upper Amazon

The dominant culture historical model of Amazonian prehistory is that population growth in the central Amazon led to repeated migrations up the major tributaries including the Madeira, Japura, Napo, and Ucayali Rivers. Lathrap argued that this population growth was made possible by the extraordinarily rich varzea of the central Amazon. In time, overpopulation, internecine warfare, and/or other factors led some to emigrate in search of comparable lands elsewhere (Lathrap 1970; Brochado 1984).

Isolation and ceramic change: A case from the Ucayali River, Peru

Abstract Detailed archaeological research in the tropical rain forests of eastern Peru suggests that the Pacacocha Tradition is ancestral to the ceramics of modern Panoan tribes. However, seriation of prehistoric and modern ceramic complexes would yield an erroneous reconstruction of regional culture history. The source of error lies in the fact that the modern pottery of interfluvial tribes is little different from the pottery manufactured before A.D. 800 on the mainstream. At the same time, modern interfluvial pottery is very different from contemporary products of the riverine tribes. The cultural dynamics underlying these distinctions are examined. It is concluded that differential access to the transportation routes of the mainstream is the primary underlying variable. Imitation of prestige wares of the Polychrome Tradition and the production of trade goods are interpreted as secondary considerations.

Fluted Points from the Sulphur Springs Valley, Cochise County, Arizona

ABSTRACTThree obsidian fluted points from southeastern Arizona are described. The use of Folsom fluting technology suggests that these points were manufactured by a regional variant of Folsom culture.

Indian Trade Ornaments

James W. VanStone 1989 Indian Trade Ornaments in the Collections of the Field Museum of Natural History. Ficldiana Anthropology, New Series No. 13. 40 pp. 32 illustrations.

Distribution of Amazonian Dark Earths in the Brazilian Amazon

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